Uasin Gishu to receive Sh630m from the World Bank under the city resilience programme

Uasin Gishu County will soon receive Ksh 630 million to fund a of housing and sanitation programme under the City Resilience Programme funded by the World Bank.

According to Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago, the funds will be disbursed in two tranches with the first tranche of Ksh 320 million expected to be released by mid-November this year.

Governor Mandago said his government was ready to absorb all the funds from the World Bank.

Speaking when he hosted officials from the World Bank’s City Resilience Programme and the Kenya Urban Support Programme, the Governor said his government is awaiting for the money to commence projects as soon as possible.

“It is all systems go for us, everything is ready and we are just waiting for the release of the funds to kick off the projects,” said Mandago.

Among projects that the county intends to roll out through the partnership include drilling of boreholes and creation of new dams to increase water availability for its residents.

Sanitation is also another area that will benefit from the funding with the county having designed the establishment of more sewer projects, including sinking of another sewage lagoon.

In the Department of Environment, Tourism and Wildlife Management, the World Bank funding will be spent on rehabilitation of Sosiani River and creating nature trails and amusement parks.

The coming of the City Resilience Programme to Uasin Gishu follows a fruitful project presentation by the County Government in the New Urban Agenda Forum held in Bankok, Thailand, last year.

The county executive commttee( CEC)Lands, Housing and Physical Planning, Engineer Nelson Maritim while meeting with the World Bank officials, said all the designs for the intended projects were ready and that the county was prepared to receive and utilise the monies.

Maritim said Uasin Gishu County was slated to get 2000 housing units under the affordable housing sector in the Big 4 agenda.

To achieve this, the CEC said adequate land was required and warned individuals who grabbed land meant for public utilities to surrender the title deeds or risk being prosecuted.

“We shall arrest you if you fail to surrender any fraudulently obtained tittle deed in respect of public land”, he warned.

The Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) team leader Abdu Muwonge, said Uasin Gishu County stands to benefit a great deal from the global bank facility, owing to its ability to articulate issues they need for the benefit of its residents.